Container



Nov. 30, 1937. R. E. READ 0, 6

CONTAINER Original Filed July 6, 1934 3 Sheegs-Shee't 1 ATTORN EY Nov..30,1937.

R. E. READ CONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed July 6, 1934 Nov. 30, 1937. R, E; READ 2,100,516

CONTAINER Origin a1 Filed July 6, 1934 s Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR Patented Nov. 30, 1937 UNITED STATES CONTAINER Water-town, N. Y.

Robert E. Read,

Application July 6, 1934, Serial No. 733,947 Renewed May 21, 1937 7 Claims.

My present invention relates to improvements in carriers or containers for fragile and breakable articles, and more particularly,'to improvements in carriers or containers for eggs or like 5 articles so designed as to prevent breakage of the packed articles during shipment and which will,- at the same time, provide a suitable and convenient means for dispensing the articles in retail quantities.

Although many carriers or containers for eggs and other fragile articles have been developed their use has not become widespread due primarily to the fact that they are designed either for handling such articles during shipment or for handling such articles in retail quantities. No

container, of which I am aware, has been developed which meets the needs of the shipper and which will, at the same time,-fulfil all of the requirements of the retail trade. Heretofore, it has been considered impossible to construct such a container which will embody features satisfying the requirements of the packer and the retailer. As far as I am aware, these features of construction have been considered to be mutually exclusive in nature and could not be embodied in a single container. I have found, however, that the construction of a container satisfactory both to the wholesale and the retail trade is not impossible. v,

Accordingly, it is an object of my present invention to provide a container for eggs and other fragile and breakable articles, made preferably of moulded pulp material, which is rigid in construction, compact in size and which. serves as a 35 protection for the packed articles when the container is subjected to the various shocks and strains incident to shipping and handling.

Another object of my present invention is to provide a carrier. or container for eggs and the like which is provided with one or more rows of receiving cells, each row of cells being provided with a rib formed by impressing a suitably shaped channel in the material from which the carrier or container is formed. Each rib extends across a row of cells and is so shaped as to hold the container against distortion and, at the same time, to serve as means for cushioning the packed articles against any shocks or strains to which they might possibly be subjected either during shipment or in the retail establishment.

Still another object of my present invention is to provide a carrier or container for eggs and the like which is provided with one or more rows of a article receiving cells, each row being provided with a rib formed by impressing a suitably-shaped channel in the material from which the carrier or container is formed. Each rib extends across 8? row ofceils and is provided with a concave top joining the side walls. 'By this construction the 5o container is held against distortion and any- I shocks are transmitted through the rib to the walls of the container and are not transmitted directly through the packed articles. v Still another object of my invention is toprovide'a carrier or container for eggs having a plurality of egg receiving cells, the said cellsv being reinforced by suitably shaped ribs. The egg cells areformed so as to maintain the eggs in upright position thereby reducing the size of the container so that it. may fit within standard sized 1.0 sleeves, now in general use and thereby permitting a plurality of saidcontainers to be packed in standard shipping cases.

Still another object of my present invention is to provide a carrier or container for eggs and like fragile 'objectshaving a plurality. of article receiving cells so designed as to maintain the contained objects in upright position andat the same time to cushion the ends of such' objects. The carrier or container comprises complemen tary sections or portions,'eac h section orportion being provided with cells, of the aforesaid design. a The sections are hinged together by means so designed as to prevent the rubbing or crushing of the contained objects in the lower section as the upper section is being folded over the lower section into closed position. A further object ,of my present invention is to provide a' carrier or container for eggs and the like which is provided with one or more rows of egg receiving cells, each row being provided with a rib designed to hold the container against distortion and, at the same time, to provide a cushioning. means for the packed articles. The container is also provided with one or more transverse ribs which serve to prevent lateral expan-- sion of the ribs running across the rows of cells and hence serve further to strengthen the container. I v These and other objects of my presentinvention will become more apparent from a study of the following description considered in connece tion with the attached drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of one form of my invention; a

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof; Fig.3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines H of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the lines 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the lines 6-6 of Fig; 1;

7 is a perspective view of one form of my invention;

Fig. 8 is atop plan view of a modification of" my invention showing the co ntainer in opened position; g Fig. ,9 is a top plan .view of thmodiflcation 60 shown in Fig. 8 with the container in closed position;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken along the lines |0l0'of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line Hll of Fig. 10.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts I have shown in Figs. 1 to '7, inclusive a preferred form of my invention. In these views the carrier or container A, formed preferably of moulded yzilp material, is shown as comprising a lower section or half 20, hingedly secured by means of a connecting strip 2! to the upper section or half 22. Although any suitable method may be used in forming the carrier or container from the pulp material I prefer to use a suction moulding process wherein the pulp is forced against a foraminous mould of the desired configuration by the application of suction on the inner face of the mould. However, it is to be understood that other moulding processes may be used to form my improved contained without limiting in any way the scope of my invention.

Each portion or section is provided with a plurality of article receiving cells 23 projecting from the face of the sheet 24. These cells are arranged in parallel rows and although the number of cells and rows may vary each section consists preferably of a dozen cells arranged in two parallel rows of six cells each. The faces of these sheets 24 of both the upper and lower sections are adapted to abut each other in a manner to be hereinafter more particularly described whereby the aligned cells of such upper and lower sections form individual article receiving cells.

In the forms of containers now in use it has been found that they do not afford suflicient protection to the articles packed in the container in that the container is liable to become bent or distorted, frequently resulting in breakage to the articles packed therein. In order to elimi-' nate this and other faults I have provided each row of cells with a rib25 extending substantially continuously along each row. These ribs retain the container against longitudinal bending. Each of the ribs 25 is substantially trapezoidal in cross section, being provided at its top with a concave surface 26'which serves to cushion the ends of the articles packed in the cells. The top of each rib should lie at least in thesame plane as the base of the cells in each section or half 20 and 22.. Preferably, however, the top edges of these ribs extend slightly above the base of the cells so as not only to increase the: strength of the ribs but also to provide additional protection for the ends of the articles packed in the cells.

As will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 1, each of the longitudinally extending ribs is broken by the tiansverse ribs 21 which intersect the longitudinal ribs at spaced intervals. The tops of these transverse ribs: lie in a plane below the tops of the longitudinally extending ribs and divide each longitudinal rib into three sections. The top 28 of each transverse rib is also substantially narrower than the top of each longitudinal rib thereby. aifording greater rigidity to the transversely extending ribs. By the construction above described the transverse ribs prevent lateral expansion of the container and do not interfere in any substantial degree with the functioningof the longitudinally extending ribs. In addition, ribs 29 may be provided which serve to tie the inner walls 30 of the longitudinally extending ribs together. These ribs also serve an additional function in protecting the contained articles against damage in a manner to be hereinafter more particularly described.

As has been hereinbefore stated, the sections 20 and 22 are hinged together by a strip 2|. This -strip forming the hinge of the container comprises a central member defined by two parallel is extremely important when it is desired to pro-' vide a suitable container for retail use. By providing a hinge of substantial width the upper section or portion may be folded over on top of the lower section or portion without disturbing the objects standing on end in the cells. Since the container is designed'primarily to handle eggs it would be impossible to provide a container having a hinged cover in which container the eggs are stood on end. In other containers of this general type the eggs must of necessity be placed on their sides necessitating the use of an odd sized shipping container or crate. Since, in the shipping and handling of eggs, the shipping container or crate has long since been standardized the difficulties incident to 'side packing of eggs have been heretofore insurmountable. By

. the hinge construction described above suiiicient ing cells 23 the ribs 25 and the tie ribs 29, the

interior of'the container comprises a plurality j of partitions 33 having concave walls merging into the bottom of the cells. These partitions are formed or defined by depressions 34 and 35 located between alternate cells in each row, the depressions 34 constituting the inner walls of the transverse ribs 21, and the depressions 35 constituting the inner wallsof the tie ribs 29. By this construction each article receiving cell is shaped to hold the contained article and contact between articles in adjacent cells of each row 'is prevented.

The container is also provided with a plurality of dividers 36 serving to separate the inner row of cells so as to prevent contact between articles in adjacent cells. These dividers are located adjacent the hinge strip 2| and, as will be noted from an inspection of Figs. 3 and 4, do not interfere with the hinge action of the hinge strip but, on the contrary, serve to accentuate the hinge construction. Thus, in Fig. 3 the hinge is shown in closed position with the top of the dividers 36 of the upper and lower container halves abutting each other. Hence, these dividers serve to prevent the hinge from being broken and thereby prevent the crushing of the con-.

'will not be transmitted through the contained articles but through the material or the container. /'I'his feature is of extreme importance shorter diameter.

face 26' and is substantially similar in construction to the longitudinal ribs disclosed in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive with the exception that the top edges 31 of each rib is rounded thereby affording a more resilient cushioning means for the contained articles.

The interior of the container is identical in form and construction to the interior of the container disclosed in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, the

central dividers 33' being formed however .by the depressions 34' constituting the inner walls of the tie ribs 29'. As in the modification disclosed in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive dividing means 36' are provided adjacent the hinge strip 2i It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other modifications may be provided without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention. Thus, the container may be provided with transverse ribs adjacent either end of the selling of eggs. This latter feature of my in-' vention is further emphasized when it isconsidered that the container is of such form that it may be placed within an outer sleeve of standard form such as is readily available in themarket. This typeof container can be made for even less cost than any of the containers now on the market and add in a marked degree to the security of the articles packed therein. Although I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that I can make many changes and alterations in the specific construction without depart ing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A fragile article container of the character described comprising in combination. a member formed with a row of cavities to provide a row of article receiving cells, a reinforcing rib extending through said row of cells and forming webs between adjacent cells, the top of said rib being substantially concave throughout its length, a rib extending transversely across said container and through said first mentioned rib, said transversely extending rib cutting through said reinforcing rib, the top thereof being in a plane below the plane of said reinforcing rib whereby to impart rigidity to said container across its shorter diameter;

2. An article container of the character described comprising a member formed with rows of cavities to, provide rows of article receivingcells, a-reinforcing rib extending through each of said rows of cells and forming webs between adjacent cells'in each row, the top of each of said ribs being substantially concave throughout its length, ribs extending transversely across said container and through said reinforcing ribs, said transversely extending ribs cutting through said reinforcing ribs, the tops thereof being in a plane below the plane of said reinforcing ribs whereby to impart rigidity to said container across its shorter diameter.

3. An article container of .the character described comprising amember formed with rows of cavities to provide rows of article receiving of said rows of cells and forming webs between adjacent cells in each row, and ribs connecting adjacent rows of cells and located between these cells and merging with the webs formed by the reinforcing ribs extending through each row.

4. An article container of the character described comprising a member formed with rows cells, a reinforcing rib extending through each a of cavities to provide rows of article receiving cells, a reinforcing rib extending through each of said rows of cells and forming webs between adjacent cells, the top of each of said ribs being substantially concave, ribs extending transversely across said container and cutting through said reinforcing ribs, the tops of said transverse ribs being in a plane below the plane of said reinforcing ribs, tie ribs connecting adjacent rows of cells and merging with the webs formed by the reinforcing ribs extending through each row of cells.

5. A container of the character described comprising sheets of moulded material provided with article holding cups, the sheets forming by-means of said cups rows of article receiving cells, a strip of moulded material formed integrally with said sheets to provide ahinged connection therebetween, means adjacent the margins of said strip and merging into said margins adapted to abut each other when said sheets are in superimposed relation whereby to transmit any vertical force away from articles in said cells and away from said strip. I

6. A container of the character described comprising sheets of moulded material provided with article holding cups, the sheets forming by means of said cups rows of article receiving cells, a strip of material formed integrally with said sheets to provide a hinged connection therebetween, each sheet having a raised portion adjacent one side oftion, said raised portions when said sheets are in superimposed relation abutting one againstthe other whereby to transmit any vertical force away from articles in said cells and said strip, said hinged connection being defined by parallel weakened lines.

7. A container of the character described comprising sheets of moulded material provided with article holding cups, the sheets forming by means of said cups article receiving cells, a strip of moulded pulp material lying in a single plane and formed integrally with said sheets to provide a hinged connection therebetween, a series of members formed in each sheet adjacent its edge of said strip and merging into said edge, the members of each sheet being adapted, when said sheets are in superimposed relation to abut against the members of the opposite sheet whereby to transmit vertical loading without effect on said strip.

ROBERT E. READ. 

